Draper: 'I've had times when I've thought I'm not cut out for this sport'

pa href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/jack-draper/d0co/overview'Jack Draper/a came bursting onto the scene in 2022 and looked poised to quickly rise to the top of the sport. But the 22-year-old has had to remain patient, overcome adversity and work hard to reach Wednesdayrsquo;s breakthrough moment at the a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/us-open/560/overview'US Open/a, where Draper advanced to his first major semi-final./p

pldquo;This is not an overnight thing for me. I've believed for a long time that I've been putting in the work and doing the right things, and I knew that my time would come,rdquo; Draper said in his post-match press conference. ldquo;I didn't know when it would be, but hopefully from here I can do a lot of amazing things. I'm very proud of myself./p

pldquo;I've had times when I've maybe thought to stop or, lsquo;Am I cut out for this sport? Am I really good enough?rsquo; And all these sorts of stuff. /p

pldquo;I kept on believing in myself, kept on working. Those are hard moments. This is not a hard moment compared to that. This is a privilege, and this is an honour to be in this position. This is why I work so hard, so I've got to just keep it going in my stride. I'm not afraid of being in these positions.rdquo;/p

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pThroughout Draperrsquo;s young career, injuries have routinely hindered the Britonrsquo;s progress. Even in his 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 quarter-final victory against a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/alex-de-minaur/dh58/overview'Alex de Minaur/a, Draper encountered a brief injury scare. He began stretching out his right leg, which was wrapped by the physio at 2-1 in the second set, but it did not hamper Draper's march to victory./p

pThe past few months, Draper has been enjoying the form of his life, claiming his maiden tour-level title in Stuttgart and now into the last four at Flushing Meadows. Regardless of what happens in his semi-final, Draperrsquo;s dream run has already ensured the lefty will rise to a career-high in Mondayrsquo;s PIF ATP Rankings./p

pldquo;I've been working so hard for such a long time now. I'd say last year was a real turning point for me, kind of when I had my injury setbacks and taking a lot of time off over the summer because of my shoulder injury,rdquo; said Draper, No. 20 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings./p

pldquo;I had to sort of watch all these young, amazing players winning amazing tournaments. I'm playing on the biggest stage in the world and I felt like I just wasn't doing enough to get to that point myself.rdquo;/p

pNow, the 25th seed is in the spotlight himself. Draper is the only player to not drop a set this fortnight./pp

pldquo;I think coming here this week, I've been feeling like a more complete player,rdquo; Draper said. ldquo;Physically, I've always mdash; maybe in the past, worried a little bit about playing five sets and mentally and emotionally it being too much for me, just thinking, lsquo;Am I good enough to sort of play these best players in the world in best-of-five sets and stuff?rsquo;/p

pldquo;I still feel like I have so much left in my locker, I'm not worrying about if it goes longer, if it goes for a long time. It gives me a lot of peace of mind knowing that my body feels good or robust and I'm ready to go the distance if I need to. I feel really strong out there, so that's something that's really improved for me.rdquo;/p

pDraperrsquo;s coach, a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/james-trotman/t275/overview'James Trotman/a, added that the Sutton nativersquo;s physical improvements have been a key to his charge's recent success./p

pldquo;Jack has played some really high level tennis matches in the past, but physically it's been a struggle,rdquo; Trotman said. ldquo;He's a big boy, he's got a big body. It takes time to grow into that. He's had a lot of injuries and a lot of setbacks, so you're not banking that consistent work.rdquo;/pp[NEWSLETTER FORM]/p